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Tony Blair is back to lecture Britain on why it is wrong to leave the European Union. Pro-Brexit MPs have already taken to the ramparts to condemn his "arrogant" and "out of touch" intervention. Should they be so furious?

Over 17 million people defied the Europhile establishment by voting for Britain's departure. But that isn't good enough for Mr Blair, who has decreed that they did so "based on imperfect knowledge". He is refusing to respect the result, as many Remainers have decided to do, but has made it his "mission" to fight against it.

Not all former Remain campaigners agree with this. #Brexit was democratic vote & need to work for best possible version not fight it. https://t.co/5rvPKvh3wX

Leavers will make a show of gnashing their teeth about Mr Blair's intervention. In truth, they'll be delighted to have him at the head of the anti-Brexit movement, as he will remind voters of the pro-EU political elite they reject at the ballot box.

The former Labour Prime Minister is celebrated for winning three general elections, but that doesn't mean he can expect to be heard reverentially by the British people. New polling by Opinium suggests that 49 per cent thought he did a bad job as premier, the worst rating of all the recent residents of 10 Downing Street.

Few remember him with any fondness, as just 22 per cent said he was a good premier. Similar numbers - 28 per cent - told another poll by Survation that they trusted Mr Blair when he spoke about the EU, while 59 per cent distrusted him. Whenever he moans about Brexit, he is likely to drive more people away than he is going to convince.

The former Labour premier knows that his fellow diehard Remainers face an uphill struggle, declaring last year that "we're the insurgents now". If he envisages himself as the Europhile Che Guevara, the evidence suggests he is about as inspiring to the cause as an anonymous Twitter troll.

No matter how infuriating Brexiteers find his sermons, they will be secretly praying that he doesn't stop wading into the EU debate.